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How would one go about getting a job in Venture Capital?
Posted on 8/28/14 at 2:03 pm
Posted on 8/28/14 at 2:03 pm
Let's say a person has 5 years of experience as an engineer in a particular industry (ex: semiconductors) and this person goes and gets an MBA from a top-tier school. Is it possible for that person to get a job post MBA in a VC firm that focuses on investments in that particular industry (semiconductors)?
Do you need to have startup/entrepreneurial experience to land a job in a VC firm? Also what is the career progression in VC - for example, what are VC equivalents of analyst, associate, VP, director, MD?
Do you need to have startup/entrepreneurial experience to land a job in a VC firm? Also what is the career progression in VC - for example, what are VC equivalents of analyst, associate, VP, director, MD?
8
Posted on 8/28/14 at 2:29 pm to euphemus
Haven't you asked this 3 times already?
The answer to your first question is no.
The answer to your first question is no.
Posted on 8/28/14 at 3:17 pm to euphemus
quote:
How would one go about getting a job in Venture Capital?
Probably (in order of liklihood):
1. Be born into the Romney family
2. Be born into a Jewish family
3. Be born into an Arab family
4. Attend a top 10 MBA program and make friends with a young man who falls into any of the first 3 categories I listed.
This post was edited on 8/28/14 at 3:18 pm
Posted on 8/28/14 at 3:28 pm to SirWinston
Yeah very unlikely.
Easiest path is to start a successful business. You really don't have any credibility assessing other peoples' businesses without f-you money that you likely created.
Easiest path is to start a successful business. You really don't have any credibility assessing other peoples' businesses without f-you money that you likely created.
Posted on 8/28/14 at 3:34 pm to austiger
So aim lower....look around for regional angel funds and see what's out there. Some of the smaller angel funds do pooled investing; you can get in around $100K and see what it's all about.
Posted on 8/28/14 at 3:45 pm to euphemus
Get a MBA from a Top 20 school and go from there. That business is all about making the right (or is it white, LOL) connections.
These venture funds by and large are looking for investments that will give them a great and hopefully quick return. I'm not so sure they understand, or care to understand, the widgets that are being made.
Now, having startup experience can help, certainly.
These venture funds by and large are looking for investments that will give them a great and hopefully quick return. I'm not so sure they understand, or care to understand, the widgets that are being made.
Now, having startup experience can help, certainly.
Posted on 8/28/14 at 10:41 pm to barry
I have asked about private equity and IB before. I'm just trying to understand what opportunities are out there.
Posted on 8/29/14 at 7:46 am to SirWinston
Posted on 8/29/14 at 11:03 am to euphemus
Unless you have been responsible for a successful start up, why would anyone want to hire you to tell them how to run one they are investing capital in?
Posted on 8/29/14 at 2:20 pm to AngryBeavers
quote:
Unless you have been responsible for a successful start up, why would anyone want to hire you to tell them how to run one they are investing capital in?
They don't ask how to run one, they ask if the technology/IP/value-driving property is legit. For this they need subject matter experts. They have business guys to look at the balance sheet. These two are not necessarily or even often the same person.
Posted on 8/29/14 at 2:46 pm to Sigma
quote:
They don't ask how to run one, they ask if the technology/IP/value-driving property is legit. For this they need subject matter experts.
more than likely this position is going to be filled by an entrepreneur who is technically proficient in his field, and has been on multiple startup teams before.
Posted on 8/29/14 at 2:47 pm to euphemus
Honestly: if your top-tier school can't give you networking contacts, then you didn't go to the right school, and you're going to have an extremely difficult time landing in the industry. Also, if you don't have analyst experience typically in i-banking they won't want you. Staffing is very limited, especially for the younger people.
Best advise is to use every avenue you can to network w/ VC firms - informational interviews are a necessity. If you really want it, you should be putting 100% of your time/effort into it. If not you have essentially no chance.
Best advise is to use every avenue you can to network w/ VC firms - informational interviews are a necessity. If you really want it, you should be putting 100% of your time/effort into it. If not you have essentially no chance.
Posted on 8/29/14 at 2:53 pm to ForeLSU
quote:
more than likely this position is going to be filled by an entrepreneur who is technically proficient in his field, and has been on multiple startup teams before.
Fair enough. But I see quite a few VC firms in my field bringing MDs and PhDs to meetings. Hard to tell sometimes if they are employees or consultants.
Posted on 8/29/14 at 10:12 pm to BostonAdam
quote:
Honestly: if your top-tier school can't give you networking contacts, then you didn't go to the right school, and you're going to have an extremely difficult time landing in the industry. Also, if you don't have analyst experience typically in i-banking they won't want you. Staffing is very limited, especially for the younger people.
Best advise is to use every avenue you can to network w/ VC firms - informational interviews are a necessity. If you really want it, you should be putting 100% of your time/effort into it. If not you have essentially no chance.
Thank you for your input and everyone else who chimed in. I am only 2 weeks into my MBA and I am still exploring. You are right in that many VC people come from iBanking background. I browsed through many VC folks' profiles on LinkedIn and that certainly seems to be the case. A large portion of them seem to have spent time as Analysts, Associates etc. at iBanks before getting into VC.
Another area I am looking at is corporate venture capitalinvesting arms of large companies such as GE, Siemens, Google, Intel, etc. Relatively speaking, it might be easier (nothing is easy I know) to break into them and regular VC shops.
Thanks again for all the inputs guys. It is really helpful.
Posted on 8/30/14 at 3:41 pm to euphemus
It's possible and it's good that you're starting early into your MBA. Just realize that there is a crazy amount of competition for only a few roles so you need to prove you're a better hire than the Harvard/MIT kids who have ibanking experience.
It's going to be difficult. I know, I went through the same thing. Just stay diligent.
It's going to be difficult. I know, I went through the same thing. Just stay diligent.
Posted on 8/30/14 at 4:36 pm to euphemus
There have been a few threads on here lately about VC/PE, but they were mostly about PE...
LINK LINK LINK
(I think you started one of them.)
I understand the VC world a lot less than the PE world, but I do know that the VC world is a lot more open to different backgrounds--legal vs. engineering/IT/business (and much less straight finance people, with even the lawyer people having technical undergrad degrees).
My feeling is that VC is a lot more "Wild West" than PE is, but at the same time, at the very top blue-chip firms like Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia, you likely won't even sniff a job unless you went to schools like Harvard or Stanford law/b-schools.
LINK LINK LINK
(I think you started one of them.)
I understand the VC world a lot less than the PE world, but I do know that the VC world is a lot more open to different backgrounds--legal vs. engineering/IT/business (and much less straight finance people, with even the lawyer people having technical undergrad degrees).
My feeling is that VC is a lot more "Wild West" than PE is, but at the same time, at the very top blue-chip firms like Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia, you likely won't even sniff a job unless you went to schools like Harvard or Stanford law/b-schools.
Posted on 8/30/14 at 6:06 pm to euphemus
FWIW, I will say that if there is a standard route to getting into VC, that would be to get a technical degree, then be involved in small start-up tech companies, and then to go get an MBA or JD/MBA.
At that point, it might be helpful to have the additional step of being in i-banking, but really, it's the tech experience (and big corporations might work here too) and going back for a graduate degree at a top-notch b-school that are the most important components for getting your foot in the door.
At that point, it might be helpful to have the additional step of being in i-banking, but really, it's the tech experience (and big corporations might work here too) and going back for a graduate degree at a top-notch b-school that are the most important components for getting your foot in the door.
Posted on 8/31/14 at 9:51 am to euphemus
There really isn't a direct route into it, other than creating relationships by having a VC firm invest your startup or having a ridiculous resume.
I work for a company in the VC industry that's actually based in Louisiana (Yeah, I was surprised too). Our founder literally wrote the encyclopedia of Venture Capital VC Experts.
I work for a company in the VC industry that's actually based in Louisiana (Yeah, I was surprised too). Our founder literally wrote the encyclopedia of Venture Capital VC Experts.
Posted on 8/31/14 at 7:17 pm to euphemus
Without the pedigree or target education, this is likely a pipe dream unless you're talking a small regional firm. Might want to consider more obtainable goals.
This post was edited on 8/31/14 at 7:21 pm
Posted on 8/31/14 at 8:28 pm to lilsnappa
quote:
Our founder literally wrote the encyclopedia of Venture Capital VC Experts.
I actually had a chance to collaborate with him years ago when I was a grad student, but I ended up flushing that opportunity down the drain because of immaturity and lack of direction. (Which might have been for the best, since VC probably would have been a terrible fit for me.) Man, it's a trip though going back through memory lane and thinking about how totally lost and clueless I was back then. What a flake I was.
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